Trouble Comes in Threes
by still-not-british
Summary: Pepper and Tony are going to be celebrating a very special occasion, but they need Bruce and Darcy's help in order to make it happen. A Pepperony and Brucy fic.
1. Chapter 1

Tony Was lounging in his favorite overstuffed chair, a glass of whiskey in one hand, a remote in the other.

It's amazing how absolutely _nothing _is on TV nowadays.

Tony exhales loudly as he lazily changes the channel yet again and takes a rather large sip out of his glass. He wasn't used to his days being so lazy. Normally there are people to save, press conferences to attend, or parties to plan. But not today. This was probably Pepper's doing, making sure his schedule was cleared for this weekend. But then again, 7th anniversaries are kind of a big deal.

"TONY! A little help please!"

The sound of Pepper's voice reminded him that he should of started packing for their little vacation about...3 hours ago... No big deal, you don't really have to pack much for a two day trip. Tony thought that two days is way too short of a time to celebrate this big milestone in his and Pepper's relationship. Two weeks at a _minimum, _but Pepper wouldn't listen, there were things to do, places to be, blah blah blah. Sometimes she sounded like one of the grown-ups from Charlie Brown, she really needed to take a chill pill. Despite all that, Tony was quite excited to go to Venice with Pepper.

"Coming!" Tony yelled back

Was something burning?

He quickly got up out of the chair and placed his glass on a nearby table and increased his pace through the long halls of Stark's home.

"JARVIS, is everything okay?" Tony questioned

"There seems to have been some kind of an explosion in your workshop master Stark." Replied the mechanical British voice

"Mrs. Stark requests you to come quickly" he coolly continues.

"Oh Christ," Tony exasperatedly sighs

As he enters his lab, some grey smoke billows through the doors.

"JARVIS, activate the extractor fans."

Tony couldn't help but cough, and wave his hand to clear the air.

As the smoke quickly clears, Tony sees Pepper, frazzled and exhausted. Her hair is disheveled and the bags under her eyes show the severe sleep deprivation she's been suffering from. She was perfect. He just hoped she could catch some Z's before they got to Venice, she'd need all the energy she has for what he has planned.

Pepper gave him her famous "What are you doing standing there like an idiot" stare and sighed, running her fingers through her hair.

"I'm gonna let you take care of this one."

As she walks away, Tony turns to see the rubble that once was his workbench and sighs. juggling saving the world, running a billion dollar corporation, and being the most badass super hero _ever _was easy. But being a dad is the biggest challenge he's ever faced.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks so much for the kind reviews! I have a lot in store for this story so I'm really excited! Love it? Hate it? Please tell me so I can improve my writing. Thank you guys!_

They say trouble comes in threes, and whoever "they" are couldn't be more right. Tony was looking at the three biggest bundles of trouble he had ever seen in his life.

"So what possessed you three to blow up my lab _this _time?"

Yep, this had happened more than once, explosions were a pretty regular occurrence in this household.

"Brennan did it daddy!"

Tony looked down to see his five year old daughter, Lilly, pointing a tiny finger at her older brother who was standing to her left. Lilly looked like a miniaturized version of Pepper. Her short, strawberry blonde hair complimented her striking blue eyes that were currently glaring at her older brother. Tony squatted to get to his children's eye level and smiled.

"Oh did he now?" he quipped.

He found the blame game Lilly constantly tried to play very funny, her forehead always got so scrunched up and she made a point to pout with her lower lip. Wow. She was exactly like Pepper. He wasn't mad that his kids blew up his lab on a regular basis, he kept anything valuable or potentially dangerous locked away so they couldn't get to it. He was quite thrilled that they were interested in tinkering around, he also loves how their tinkering tends to ruffle Pepper's feathers. His eyes moved to his son who gave him a somewhat exasperated look.

"It was an accident Dad, I swear." He grumbled

Brennan was seven, he had Tony's mussy brown hair and big, beautiful brown eyes that he learned he could easily manipulate others with. He was normally full of spunk and sass, much like his father, but something had put him in a less than dapper mood.

"I believe you, just tell me what happened"

Brennan sighed and glanced at his father's demolished workbench before he began.

"Well, you know that hoverbike you got me?"

Tony nodded in reply

"Well, it runs out of juice _way _too fast, and is a pain to recharge. I remembered hearing you say something about how rubidium can create a lot of energy and I wanted to try to harness that energy... But Lilly came in while I was working with it and I got distracted and accidentally dropped some in the glass of water I brought down. Then... you know... Boom!"

Brennan gestured rather violently to show how big the explosion really was.

"I was so close Dad, if only I didn't drop it.."

Tony couldn't help but grin. He was amazed at how inquisitive and truly brilliant his son was becoming. Brennan kind of reminded him of himself when he was younger.

"So, where does your little brother come into the picture?"

A small face peered from behind the rubble that once was Tony's workbench.

"Cris didn't do nuffin Daddy" Cried Lilly

Lilly tended to feel responsible for her three year old brother. Unlike his parents and siblings, he was shy and very soft spoken, his angelic face feigned innocence but Tony knew better than anyone that looks can be deceiving. Cris was just as destructive as the rest of his family members.

"Oh really? Is that true Cris?"

Some unintelligible mumbling came from behind the rubble and the boy's face started to flush.

"What was that? Couldn't really hear you my little man!" Tony teased.

Cris's voice came out as barely a whisper.

"N-no Daddy"

Cris flushed even harder which contrasted with his pale skin and blonde hair.

"You and I both know that the small amount of rubidium Brennan had couldn't cause this big of an explosion"

Pepper's voice rang out through the intercom just as Cris's hazel eyes started to well up in tears.

"Tony! We're late! _Please___tell me you've finished packing."

Tony sighed, he was just starting to have fun.

"Hey, Cris I'm not mad, not at all! You, me and Brennan can all work in the lab together when I get back so there aren't anymore accidents, okay?"

Tony ruffled his son's hair

"Let's go find Mom"

He then scooped up his youngest child and swung him onto his shoulders. The boy let out a delighted squeal as Tony exclaimed

"Come on you guys! I'll race you to Mom!"

The kids started to giggle and scamper about, running out of Tony's demolished lab in a desperate attempt to beat him to their mother.

Pepper was standing with her arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently. She glanced at her watch and heard the sound of her children's laughter down the halls. Her face, which was furrowed and impatient suddenly relaxed into a soft smile. Tony was so good with the kids, it probably helps that he was basically one himself. The four came tumbling into the living room, full of laughter and squeals, but the sight of their tattered clothes and faces covered in soot and God knows what else made her eyes go wide.

"Oh my God, the sitters will be here any minute! You three need to get cleaned up... NOW!"

The three scurried off, still snickering and giggling from the fun they had with their dad.

Pepper sighed and slumped into the nearby leather sofa. Tony plopped down next to her and crossed his arms in thought.

"You know, Brennan's right.. his hoverbike runs out of juice too fast. Did you know he was experimenting with harnessing energy from rubidium?"

Pepper let out an exasperated moan

"Tony, you know how I feel about him having a hoverbike, let alone giving it more "juice""

Tony chuckled while he remembered the many times Pepper looked like she was about to have a heart attack while Brennan would wiz around on his red and gold hoverbike, leaving a path of wreckage in his wake.

"Wait.. Brennan was messing with rubidium?"

Tony could tell he was probably going to be in trouble, so he stood up and tried to back away.

"I should... uh... finish packing"

"No need, I figured you hadn't packed so I did it for you."

"What would I do without you?"

Pepper couldn't help but smile

"Sorry.. I'm just worried what kind of trouble the kids will get into while we're gone" She sighed

"It's hard enough to deal with _one_ of you Tony, let alone three mini-yous"

Tony raised his hands in mock defense and retorted in a teasing tone

"Hey! Don't blame it all on me! They're your kids too, you get some of the credit"

"Oh really? How much? Twelve percent?"

Tony pretended to cringe at Pepper's comment

"Oooh, over seven years and I _still_ have to pay for that comment? Holding quite a grudge, aren't we? I'd say with _these _babies you get..."

Tony paused and pretended to do calculations in the air.

"... Fifty percent of the credit"

"Is that so?"

Pepper smirked as she scooted closer to Tony, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Well, of course they get all their genius, badassery and just all around awesomeness from yours truly" he teased

"And if they get all that from you, what do they get from me?"

Tony paused. Pretending to think long and hard, pouting out his bottom lip for extra effectiveness.

"They're gorgeous" He whispered as he leaned towards her lips

"Just...Like...You."

His voice trailed off at the last word as he pulled her in for a breathtaking kiss. After seven years he couldn't get over how lucky he was. Pepper is the most amazing woman he has ever met.

Unfortunately this kiss was interrupted by a sharp squeal coming from behind them. Tony was seriously considering changing Lilly's name to "The Squealer"

"EEEEW! BRENNAN! CRIS! MOMMY AND DADDY ARE KISSING!"

Pepper and Tony broke apart and both let out an exasperated sigh. This vacation couldn't come fast enough. They turned to look at their daughter who skittered away once her eyes met with theirs.

"Mr. and Mrs. Stark, you have guests at the door" Chimed JARVIS

"Oh thank God" Pepper exclaimed with relief.

She hopped off the sofa, but not after stealing another kiss from Tony and receiving a slap on her rear as she turned to answer the door as Tony walked behind her. Pepper tried to fix her messy hair and took a deep breath before opening the door to the people who will be watching the kids for the next few days. She grinned, probably at the thought of finally getting a break from having to play "Mom" 24/7. Her grin widened as she swung open the door.

"Thanks so much for coming you guys!"


	3. Chapter 3

_I've been really fast with updating because I've written a lot of this story in advance, I'd really like to get some input from you guys. Tell me if you really like or really hate anything! It really helps me in the long run. Enjoy!_

Darcy and Bruce walked in unison as they stepped out of Darcy's grey Range Rover.

"Darcy.." Bruce sighed for the umpteenth time today

"I really don't think this is a good idea..." he said as he wrung his hands nervously as they walked up the cobblestone path through Tony's perfectly pedicured lawn.

"C'mon Bruce, it's Tony and Pepper's 7th anniversary. They can't have just anyone watching their little bundles of joy. Tony trusts you more than anyone else in the Avengers. You guys are like, science bros or.. whatever" Darcy nudged him playfully.

"I'm just not really good with... kids..." Bruce ran his hands through his hair.

It made Darcy laugh to see him nervous like this. He was just too cute.

"I'll take care of all the kid stuff, all you have to do is make the food so we don't starve."

Bruce cracked a smile at this because Darcy seriously couldn't cook. All she could make is Pop Tarts straight out of the package, once she actually tried to toast them and caused the toaster to catch on fire.

"It'll be fine Bruce, we can handle a couple of kids! No biggie."

She flashed him a winning smile and laced her fingers in his. If she could cope with her boyfriend's monster alter ego, kids would be a walk in the park.

As soon as they walked up to the front door of Tony's home, the door was opened by a grinning Pepper. Her hair was a bit askew, but she looked genuinely happy to see them.

"Thanks so much for coming you guys!"

Darcy returned Pepper's cheerful smile

"Happy to be here Pepper, now where's the little cutie pies? I haven't seen them in ages!"

Tony seemed to find Darcy's choice of words funny because he tried, and failed, to suppress a laugh.

"Glad you feel that way about our kids Darce,"

He motioned them to come inside. They were greeted by a living room with high, vaulted ceilings, very posh, modern furniture that also seemed perfect for this family of five. Darcy could see that many things had now become rather child-proofed, it made her smile to think of the now domesticated Tony Stark helping Pepper clean up toys and games as they were getting ready for bed. Tony shot her a strange look and she found herself grinning like an idiot, standing in the middle of the living room.

"You two will sleep in the guest master bedroom, JARVIS can show you the way once we've left. Just... leave whatever bedtime routines you have until after my kids are asleep, okay?"

Tony playfully punched Bruce in the arm as his face flushed up to his ears.

"Tony.. Leave 'em alone" Pepper whispered through her now forced smile.

"What?" Tony tried to feign innocence by flashing Pepper his big, brown puppy dog eyes.

I'm just requesting that they wait until our kids are sleep until they start having hot, dirty sex!"

At this, Darcy and Bruce became extremely flustered. Darcy mumbled some curses under her breath, probably at Tony, and Bruce let out a nervous chuckle.

"Okay Tony, that's enough, can you get the kids?"

As Tony turned to the hall, Pepper mouthed an exaggerated "Sorry" to Darcy and Bruce.

"Kids! Darcy and Uncle B are here!:

Uncle B? Darcy couldn't help but stifle a giggle.

Suddenly, an explosion of excited screams and giggles erupted from the halls of Tony's home and made Bruce almost jump out of his skin

"Darcy! Uncle B! YOU'RE HERE!" Screamed the excited Lilly.

Lilly started jumping and dancing in circles around Darcy's legs and Brennan immediately started barraging Bruce with questions regarding his rubidium experiment. Cris seemed much less excited at the sitters arrival and hid behind his mother's leg, sucking his thumb. Pepper gave the pair instructions on what the kids could and couldn't do, and that their bedtime was 8pm sharp. Tony remained oddly silent and wore a smug grin on his face, it later occurred to Darcy that Tony probably knew that the best way to torment them was to unleash the wrath known as the Stark children upon their poor souls. So his work here was basically done.

Pepper kissed and hugged each of her children goodbye and reminded them to be good, Tony did the same.

"If you two need anything, don't hesitate to call" Pepper said as she walked out the door.

Tony threw them his signature peace sign and then let out a low chuckle

"Have fun, and good luck you guys"

He flashed Darcy and Bruce a mischievous wink which made Darcy feel a bit uncomfortable and slammed the door behind him. The starting of a car was heard in the distance, and then everything was eerily silent.

Darcy stared at the three kids who were looking inquisitively back at her.

"So!" Darcy started as she clapped her hands together.

"What do you guys wanna do first?"

That's when all Hell broke loose.


	4. Chapter 4

_I've been really excited to show you guys this chapter. It's pretty short, so I'm posting it really early, tell me what you think!_

_

Darcy glanced up at the clock, four hours had gone by.

Only four hours? It felt like four years.

She turned to the wreckage that once was the living room, a distressed moan escaped her lips as she plopped down on the couch. Tossing aside an empty Pop Tarts wrapper onto the already littered floor. Giving Pop Tarts to these terrifying little beings of mass destruction was probably the worst idea in the history of the universe. But there they were, sleeping on the floor and looking like little damn angels. Even though these kids had been a serious pain in her ass, she couldn't help but smile, they looked super precious. Bruce came in through the front door and walked into the living room, his eyes went wide as he scanned the area. A million thoughts flew through his mind, like "how did toilet paper get up there?" which is not something he ever thought he would be contemplating. He gingerly stepped over the sleeping children and sat next to Darcy on the posh leather sofa, putting his arm behind her back and giving her side a loving squeeze. Darcy sighed and rested her head in the crook of Bruce's neck.

"Bruce... It's only been four hours." Darcy sighed.

"What? Are you serious?"

He took his glasses off with his free hand and tucked them into his pocket and proceeded to massage his forehead. Darcy grinned at him.

"I swear, they're like evil little demons who slowly suck your life force out of you. Do I have any grey hairs? I feel like I'm an old woman right about now."

Bruce glances at her head for a moment and then released a soft chuckle from his lips.

"Nope, you're good."

"Awesome, 'cuz I was seriously on the verge of a panic attack there."

The past four hours seemed like a blur. Darcy could distinctly remember a few random events, like how Cris started bawling the moment Darcy asked the kids what they wanted to do. His screaming didn't stop until an hour and a half later when Darcy shoved a Pop Tart in his mouth to shut him up. Of course, this meant she had to give all the kids a Pop Tart in threat of another screaming fest and soon the whole box of Pop Tarts was gone and the kids were on the sugar high of the century.  
Darcy didn't know that kids could literally bounce off walls until she met the Stark kids, who didn't just bounce off of walls, they bounced off of every surface imaginable, including Darcy and Bruce. Bounce may be the wrong word in this case, because it was more like a violent body slam. And all the couple could do is stand and watch in horror as the house was quickly destroyed.  
One of the kids, most likely Lilly, stole Darcy's ipod from her bag and plugged it into their father's rather enormous sound system and played her music at full blast. She didn't know it was possible to feel so much physical pain listening to her favorite songs.

"Come ON!" Darcy screamed over the blaring music

"Wasn't S.H.E.I.L.D stealing my ipod enough? Now these kids?!"

She let out a loud groan and started to repetitively bang her head on the wall.

Eventually the stress got to Bruce and he started pacing back and forth throughout the Stark household, wringing his hands and running his fingers through his hair, occasionally mumbling under his breath. Darcy could tell it was getting to be too much for him so she told him he should go outside to cool down. She was starting to get worried that he might hulk out if he kept this up.

"You sure?" he asked with a weary smile.

She was sure, she could also tell that the kids were starting to run out of steam, which was awesome. Bruce left, and as the kids started their third pillow fight, they started to fade and soon became sleeping masses on the floor, surrounded by the debris of their first four hours of chaos.


	5. Chapter 5

_I know this took awhile to write... I've been having some serious writer's block now. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this chapter, but tell me what you think!_

Darcy didn't realize she had fallen asleep until she was awoken by a sharp tugging on her hair. She lazily opened her eyes to the sight of a wide-eyed Lilly, clutching a plush Captain America doll close to her chest.

"Uncle B said to wake you up Darcy!"

The faint smell of bacon came to Darcy's nose and she bolted up. She suddenly was able to acknowledge the aching hunger in the pit of her stomach that only bacon could satisfy. Darcy looked around and saw the now spotless living room. Was it possible that those four hours were just a horrible dream? She shot a bewildered look at Lilly who was still staring at her with great, big doe eyes.

"Lilly... what happened?" Darcy questioned.

"Uncle B said that if we surprised you, he'd surprise us. So we cleanded up our mess when you were sweeping" Lilly flashed Darcy a toothy grin, proud of all the work she and her siblings put into this surprise for Darcy.  
Darcy's stomach let out a enormous growl which made Lilly snicker, Darcy ruffles the strawberry blonde hair on the little girl's head and then walked with her into Tony's kitchen. Smells of pure and absolute deliciousness filled the air that made her sigh with pleasure. Bruce was over the stove, wiping his brow with his arm as he flipped bacon on one pan and several grilled cheese sandwiches on another. The kids sat on bar stools, positioned by the breakfast bar, which jutted off from the spacious stainless steel counter that encircled the room. Their big eyes stared greedily at the sandwiches as they started to melt to gooey perfection. Darcy snuck up behind Bruce and wrapped her arms around his muscular abdomen and released another happy sigh. Bruce tensed for a moment and then released a soft chuckle.

"You have a good sleep Darce?" He turned around to plant a quick kiss on her forehead.

"Yeah, it was fantastic," she smiled

"How'd you get the kids to clean up that war zone so nicely?" she marveled as she plopped on a stool next to the kids who were still snickering at the fact that their sitters were publicly displaying their affection while they were in the vicinity.

"I have my ways," Bruce replied with an impish glint in his eyes

"I can be very persuasive you know!"

Darcy eyed him in mock suspicion.

"You didn't bribe them with your otherworldly grilled cheese sandwiches that I love so dearly, did you?"

Bruce grinned somewhat meekly

"That was one of many things I had to bribe them with, yes."

"And what're you doing making bacon? Aren't you a vegetarian?"

Bruce started to blush, God she loved teasing him.

"Well, I know you like bacon so... um... I made some for you.."

It really warmed Darcy's heart that Bruce would cook her bacon, even though he was a huge animal rights activist and loved all animals that she adored biting chunks out of. She ran up from her seat and gave Bruce a huge kiss on the cheek to express her gratitude, squeals and a few "Eew"s could be heard behind them. Darcy bit her lip and let out a giggle, being around Bruce made her act like a stupid high school girl that was high on hormones, not a recently graduated grad student, but she loved it.  
The food was done rather quickly and Darcy helped plate up the delicious smelling food, everyone sat down and dug in. Everything was rather quiet for a few moments with just the sound of chewing and a few scattered "Yum"s from the kids was the only noise until Darcy let out an extremely sensual moan. All eyes were on her.

"Oh my gosh, I let that one slip, didn't I?" She mumbled with her mouth full.

"It's just... UGH! So good!" She moaned again with her mouth still full of grilled cheese.  
"My GOD Bruce, this grilled cheese is seriously amazing! I only thought chocolate could be as good as sex!"

She bit into the sandwich again and let out a sigh. Darcy looked up at Bruce who was staring at her, as red as a tomato.

"Darce, could you.. just... not with the kids around?"

His face flushed even more and Darcy's eyes widened when she realized what she was doing. All she could do was blush back and then stare at her plate for the duration of the meal, too embarrassed to look at the kids or Bruce.  
Once they finished eating and cleaning up, Bruce moved onto his second surprise and led everyone into the living room. He pulled out a DVD he had in his satchel that was propped up in one of Tony's overstuffed chairs and inserted it into the DVD player, which projected the movie onto one of Tony's huge holographic screens. The movie he had picked was Tangled, Darcy's favorite animated movie in history, the couple was surprised to see that the boys didn't complain much and sat with their sister on the floor in front of them. Darcy snuggled up with Bruce on the same couch that she fell asleep on just a few hours earlier.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think these surprises were more suited for me than anyone else..."

Darcy turned to Bruce to look him in his eyes, they were brightly sparkling in the light of the holographic screen where Rapunzel was starting to sing the reprise of "When will my life begin" which was on of Darcy's favorite songs in the whole movie, it was basically the theme song of her life.

"Well, I might've had you in mind when I picked a few of the surprises out.." He whispered as he searched for her hand in the dark, lacing his fingers with hers.

How did she manage to date this awesome guy? He made the kids clean when she was sleeping, cooked bacon for her even though he's a vegetarian, and brought her favorite Disney movie ever. Seriously, this guy was perfect. She released a happy sigh as she relaxed even deeper into Bruce's chest. He wrapped his arm around her back and rubbed her side back and forth for the duration of the movie, Darcy couldn't help but think that the best part of this whole ordeal was that the kids were quiet, she never loved the quiet as much as she did at this moment. It was completely silent except for the background noise of the movie playing which she wasn't really bothered by. This was pure bliss.  
When the movie ended, it was almost eight, which meant that it was time for the kids to go to bed. The Stark kids seemed too tired to refuse Bruce's instructions to head to their rooms and they sleepily trudged in a single file line to their various rooms, occasionally rubbing their eyes and yawning.

"Well, that was easy!" Darcy chuckled

The pair started to head to their room, ready to go to sleep early after the insane day they had with the kids, until they heard a bloodcurdling scream which made them both jump.

Bruce turned to Darcy with a dismayed look and his eyes and they both ran in the direction the scream came from. Darcy went through all the possible scenarios that could happen in the next thirty seconds and what she should do. Alien invasion? Hide. Arch nemesis of The Hulk or Iron man? Hide. Terrorist attack? Hide. She got increasingly frustrated as she discovered that she really wouldn't be any help if this involved any form of ass kicking. That was Bruce's job. And Tony would be so pissed if Bruce hulked out and destroyed his house, this was becoming quite the dilemma. They soon arrived to the door of Lilly's room where they heard muffled sobs through the closed door.

"Everything okay in there hon'?" Darcy yelled through the closed door. She really, really hoped this kid was okay. Forget about Tony being pissed if Bruce hulked out... Tony would literally kill them if anything happened to his kids on their watch.

The door slowly swung open and Lilly looked up at Bruce and Darcy, her face red and splotchy from crying.

"There was a monster in my closet, Daddy didn't scare him away!" Lilly ran up to Darcy's legs and wrapped her tiny little arms around them as best she could and started to sob.

Bruce started to tense and shot Darcy a look, he probably thought that Lilly was talking about a real monster. Out of all the problems in the world, this was one that Darcy could help with. She tried to silently communicate with Bruce by softly smiling at him, Bruce started to relax again when he saw her gentle expression.

"Well, maybe I can help" Dary said as she scooped up the tiny girl. Lilly looked up at Darcy, still softly crying..

"R-Really?"

"Yeah, I may not look it, but I'm a pro at scaring away monsters." Darcy ruffled Lilly's hair and walked into her room, setting her down on her pink and purple covered bed. By now, Lilly had calmed down a bit, and released a few random sniffles and hiccups every so often.

"Well, Daddy reads me a story. He says when the monsters hear him, they get scared and go away"

Of course Tony would say something like that, you'd think that seven years of having children would make him less full of himself!

"I bet I'm pretty scary to the monsters, you think if I read you a story they'd go away?" Darcy asked as she started to tuck Lilly in and handed her her beloved plush Captain America doll, which she squeezed close to her chest.

"But... you're a girl! Girls aren't as scary as my Daddy" She sunk further into her bed. Darcy couldn't tell if it was out of fright or from being tired.

"Are you kidding me? If the God of Thunder is scared of me, I think a dumb little monster would be terrified of the wrath known as Darcy Lewis." She grinned as she remembered how she tazed Thor when he first came to Earth, they were good friends now, but he had always been a little wary of her and tried not to tick her off. Lilly thought a little bit, pouting out her lower lip just like her parents would do.

"Okay!" Lilly said with a smile. She turned around and lifted up her pillow which revealed a small cardboard book. It was titled "Goodnight Moon", Darcy couldn't help but smile, she remembered her parents reading this book to her when she was Lilly's age. Once she took the small book from Lilly, she looked back at the doorway and saw Bruce had his arms crossed and was leaning against the doorframe, a soft smile lazily came across his face when their eyes met. She turned back to Lilly and cleared her throat, and in a gentle whisper she started to read. Her voice was like a lullaby, soothing and sweet. Even Bruce was feeling drowsy as she turned the pages of Lilly's book.

"In the great green room, there was a telephone and a red balloon and a picture of... A cow jumping over the moon. And there were two little kittens And a pair of mittens And a little toy house and a young mouse And a comb And a brush And a bowl full of mush. And a quiet old lady who was whispering "hush"..."


	6. Chapter 6

_I tried to fill this chapter with a lot of emotion-y stuff... please tell me what you think! XOXOX_

Lilly had fallen asleep before the story was over, her breathing light and grip on the  
Captain America doll gone slack. Darcy breathed a sigh of relief and closed the little cardboard book as she tried to slide off Lilly's bed as gently as possible. Gingerly, she pulled the loose covers up to Lilly's chin and tried to tuck her in as snugly as possible. When she looked up towards Bruce, illuminated by the soft hallway light, he was smiling at her in admiration, eyes bright. Taking one last glance toward Lilly's sleeping form, she tiptoed out of the room, closed the door behind her, and flashed Bruce the stupidest grin ever.

"That was seriously the most amazing thing I've ever done." Darcy wasn't kidding or being sarcastic. She had  
never had such an intense feeling of euphoria in her life after reading Lilly peacefully to sleep.

"You'd be a fantastic mom, Darce," Bruce said before he pulled her in for a long kiss.

Darcy melted into him; she was exhausted and about ready to pass out, but more than happy to oblige him with a kiss that somehow lasted a lifetime, and yet not nearly long enough. She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked lovingly into his dark eyes. How was he so perfect? With a start, Darcy realized what Bruce was trying to tell her. She'd be a good mom, not a good babysitter, but mother and caretaker of children. Possibly theirs. Hopefully theirs. They'd never really talked about having kids, but after today, even with all the insanity, it seemed possible. They were a good team and even though she was exhausted, it was worth it. She could easily imagine them leading some sort of domestic life together and found she like the idea. Quite a lot. Still smiling against his his lips, Darcy noted in the back of her mind that she should eventually talk to Bruce about it, but was too tired for that looming discussion and wanted only to cuddle up with Bruce in bed.

Sleepily, they walked hand in hand to the master guest bedroom; it was huge, the King size poster bed wedged in the corner was bigger than theirs back home, outfitted with a living room and master bath. It was very nice, almost like a presidential suite at a fancy hotel, but better with some of Tony Stark's signature flare. Despite the impressive grandeur, neither Darcy or Bruce cared. The only thing on their minds was sleep.

Darcy found her purple suitcase placed neatly on a couch in the living room and quickly zipped it open, sloppily rummaging through her belongings until she found her favorite blue oversized T-shirt, complete with a big Wal-Mart smiley face plastered on the center of her chest. She quickly stripped off her clothes and slipped the shirt on, leaving a pile of clothes in the middle of the living room. She'd clean it up tomorrow. Darcy could hear water running from the bathroom - Bruce was probably taking a shower - and decided to wait for him on a nearby, overstuffed recliner. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

Darcy woke in the middle of the night, no longer in the overstuffed chair, but in bed with Bruce. They were both on their sides,  
facing each other. Bruce had wrapped a muscular arm around Darcy's stomach, his soft, warm breath hitting her face every so often. He must have carried her to bed when he saw she was asleep; he was too good to her. She smiled sleepily at him and softly carded his hair through her hands, wishing moments like these would last forever. She loved looking at Bruce's dreaming face, free of the worries of today and tomorrow, free from worrying about hurting those he loves - he was beautiful like this. Bruce started to stir at Darcy's soothing touch, exhaling happily, and lazily opened his eyes. Darcy felt bad that she'd woke him, but sometimes his hair was just too tempting. Especially when he was in bed.

"Sorry," she whispered. "Did I wake you up?"

Bruce's eyes opened a little more at the sound of her voice. "It's okay," he whispered back, his voice deep and groggy. He pulled Darcy closer and planted a kind kiss on her forehead.

Darcy attempted to voice a reply, but she was too tired, and soon she was fast asleep again.

This time, waking up was not so pleasant because there was a loud pounding at their bedroom door.

"Darcy! Uncle B! Are you up yet?" Bennan's voice was somewhat muffled behind the door. The giggles of his younger siblings could be heard snickering.

"We are now," Darcy grumbled, rolling out of bed. She turned to Bruce, who was still fast asleep. How could he sleep through the noise they were making? Not wanting to wake him she tiptoed to the door and quietly swung it open.

"What's up guys?" She whispered. Darcy motioned to Bruce and signalled that he was still sleeping. Cris waddled up to Darcy and pulled her shirt, having her kneel to his eye level, he cupped his hands around her ear and whispered so softly, Darcy could barely hear him.

"We're hungry"

Oh crap, she didn't know how to cook! Darcy glanced back at the still snoring Bruce and nervously rubbed the back of her head. She didn't know if she should wake him up or not, but her heart melted when she saw how peacefully he was sleeping. She looked back at the kids who were eagerly waiting to see what she'd say.

"We'll figure something out, let's get to the kitchen" Darcy smiled rather nervously as she ruffled Cris's hair. Maybe they had cereal, that's something she knew she couldn't mess up.

She was wrong.

Half an hour later, Darcy was screaming to JARVIS to help put out the fire that had started on the counter. How was it possible for toast to cause such a big explosion?

"Miss Darcy, shall I wake Mister Banner to help with breakfast?" JARVIS asked in a teasing tone, which pissed Darcy off more than anything. She turned back to the breakfast counter where the kids were seated watching in a mixture of entertainment and horror. She was a mess, her hair was singed and she smelled like smoke, all the work she had put into making a simple breakfast for the kids had amounted to two extremely singed slices of toast that were lodged in the ruined toaster. But despite all that, she wanted to make breakfast.

"No JARVIS, I think I can handle this myself" Darcy sighed as the kids started to snicker to each other, pointing behind Darcy. She turned around to see what they were laughing about to see another fire had started in the microwave. She started to scream wildly and did the worst thing she could possibly do, she opened the microwave, this led to an enormous fire erupting from the mouth of the machine, barely missing her face.

"JARVIS! DO SOMETHING!" Darcy wailed, she swore to herself that she would never cook anything ever again, this was ridiculous. She cowered in a corner as JARVIS put out the fire with a fire extinguisher, by now the kids were laughing hysterically at the mess Darcy had made which put her over the edge. She started to cry, her shoulders were shaking and her breath was jagged from sobbing. She was frustrated, cooking breakfast was something that every normal human being should be able to do, but then again, her life wasn't exactly normal. She was dating the Hulk and babysitting Iron Man's kids, that is not something a normal person would likely say, but she couldn't help but cry. She felt a pair of muscular arms wrap around her, Darcy looked up to see Bruce's face and she started to sob all over again. He stroked her hair and tried to comfort her.

"Hey, hey, it's okay Darce. No one got hurt, everything is fine." He smiled as her face peeked out from behind her mussed up hair, her eyes were still watery, but she still tried to throw him a weak smile.

"Go get cleaned up, I'll make breakfast. kay?" He took his thumb and rubbed a tear off her cheek. Darcy released a jagged sigh and grasped his hand, his touch was soothing to her and she could feel herself calming down. She really needed a shower, so she got up and rubbed her eyes before Bruce pulled her in for a loving embrace.

"You're too good for me Buce," Darcy whispered. And she really meant it, she had never dated someone that did so much for her.

"No Darcy," Bruce whispered in her ear, it made her shiver.

"If anyone is too good, it's you," He brushed her tangled hair from her face and planted the most tender and loving kiss on her forehead. His eyes were gentle, almost sad as he stroked her face with the back of her hand before he turned to the kids. Darcy plodded off to their room, ready for a hot shower to wash away all the stress she had acquired in the past hour.

She had some serious thinking to do.


End file.
